| Back to Home > Bulletin Board > Beginner Issues > Topic: Speeding up the copyedit |
Topic: Speeding up the copyedit
| Author | Message |
| Westwood | Posted – 2/7/2008 1:15:13 AM | show profile | email poster I'm new to copyediting (or copy editing, if you prefer) and I love it. I keep getting dangerously close to missing my deadlines. HELP! Can you offer any advice? I think my biggest problem is that I slow down my reading a little too much so I can catch all the errors. What do you do to speed up your copyedits without sacrificing quality? |
| pob | Posted – 2/7/2008 9:07:08 PM | show profile Copy editing for what? Newspaper? Magazine? Other? The surest cure for a slow copy editor is to spend a year working on the desk at a news wire. Being forced to edit copy in minutes with 100% accuracy and real-life consequences if you mess up is definitely the way to go. It's like with anything -- people tend to take all the time they are allotted. You need to be retrained to work at a different pace, and the only way I know how to do that is to have the deadlines be real and matter. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 2/8/2008 10:26:40 AM | show profile | email poster Quantity will definitely help there, just like I can write fast after cranking out many, many articles in newspaper. Also, becoming more sure of yourself comes with time and with familiarity with whichever styleguide (AP, Chicago or both) you're using. Doesn't hurt to study up in free time, that's for sure. Since you know you're slow, might not hurt to sacrifice a little of your own time just until you get up to speed -- in order not to back up the process as deadlines loom. Good luck! ------ http://writingporch.blogspot.com/ http://jlouiselarson.blogspot.com/ http://familyrootsandwings.blogspot.com/ |
| writesonwater | Posted – 2/8/2008 10:28:38 AM | show profile | email poster Another thing to consider is your reading speed -- you may need to work on that. I have a dear sister-in-law who's such a meticulous reader (she's a doctor) that getting through things is very laborious. I'm sure you're faster than that, but there may be things you can do to increase the time it takes you to read things. ------ http://writingporch.blogspot.com/ http://jlouiselarson.blogspot.com/ http://familyrootsandwings.blogspot.com/ |
| Westwood | Posted – 2/8/2008 7:26:52 PM | show profile Thank you! Thank you all for your advice. I will try all of your suggestions. I know full well what happens when deadlines are missed! |
